0

Eric.ed.gov – Middle-Grades Leadership Development (MLD) Project: A U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) Development Grant Final Evaluation Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Middle-Grades Leadership Development (MLD) Project was designed to develop principal leaders and leadership teams who create high-performing middle-grades schools. Designed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the four-year project was funded from 2013 to 2017 by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant. The project was implemented in 12 middle-grades schools in rural and small town areas of Kentucky and Michigan. Schools received an extensive set of school improvement supports, including: creating a vision using the Forum’s Schools to Watch (STW) criteria; engaging in an assessment and planning process for improvement; STW leadership coach; principal mentor; STW mentor schools; leadership team; networking opportunities; and focused professional development. The evaluation of the MLD Project used a quasi-experimental design (QED) with matched… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Project Exc-EL (Excellence for English Learners): Final Evaluation Report for the National Evaluation of Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund. NEi3 Evaluation Submission

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this evaluation was to understand the development, implementation, and impact of Project Exc-EL (Excellence for English Learners), a school-wide intervention focused on providing teacher professional development and training to better support English learners (ELs) in New York. Project Exc-EL focuses on training teachers to use data to identify EL student needs, creating a school climate focused on college and career readiness, and providing school coaches to support teachers as they serve EL students and their families. Project Exc-EL developed and implemented an enhanced, comprehensive design that addressed the unique and urgent needs of low-incidence EL population school districts — districts that are struggling to provide a comprehensive, rigorous education for the newest members of their communities. The project employed a data-driven, tiered approach to… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Focusing on Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Teacher Professional Development. NCEE 2016-4010

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This report examines the impact of content-intensive Professional Development (PD) on teachers’ math content knowledge, their instructional practice, and their students’ achievement. The study’s PD had three components, totaling 93 hours. The core of the PD was “Intel Math,” an intensive 80-hour workshop delivered in summer 2013 that focused on deepening teachers’ knowledge of grades K-8 mathematics. Two additional PD components totaling 13 hours were delivered during the 2013-14 school year: the “Mathematics Learning Community,” a series of five 2-hour collaborative meetings focused on analyzing student work; and “Video Feedback Cycles,” a series of three one-on-one coaching sessions where teachers’ lessons were observed and critiqued. The purpose of these two components was to reinforce the math content in Intel Math and help teachers apply the content to… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Focusing on Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Teacher Professional Development. Executive Summary. NCEE 2016-4009

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Improving math achievement among U.S. students remains a high priority as results from recent math assessments continue to show room for improvement. For example, 60 percent of fourth-graders scored below the proficient level on the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress. On the most recent Program for International Student Assessment’s math problem-solving test, U.S. 15-year-olds outperformed students in only 6 of the 34 participating countries. In an era of increasingly rigorous state standards, teachers at all grade levels face heightened expectations to deepen their students’ understanding of mathematical concepts. Teachers may thus benefit from professional development (PD) that deepens their own conceptual understanding of math. Elementary school teachers may especially benefit from content-focused PD because they are less likely to formally study math in college than secondary… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Finding Rigor within a Large-Scale Expansion of Preschool to Test Impacts of a Professional Development Program

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Achieving high-quality preschool at scale is challenging; to do so likely entails a combination of program standards, teacher qualifications and compensation, on-site quality monitoring, and professional development (PD). This study aims to examine the impact of investments in PD within the context of an expansion of universal preschool in one of the nation’s largest school districts. We leverage the opportunity provided by a “natural experiment” to estimate PD’s effects that embeds an evidence-based math curriculum in interdisciplinary units of study with coaching support on teacher math practices. A total of 95 schools participated in this study (51 treatment and 44 comparison schools). Treatment sites implemented more teacher-led math activities for a longer period compared to control sites. The size and magnitude of the impacts of a curriculum… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Professional Development Supports and Teacher Practice in Low-Income Pre-K Programs: Strengthening the Diversity and Quality of the Early Care and Education Workforce Paper Series. Research Report

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Public investment in pre-K programs across the US has expanded over the past two decades, primarily to increase access to pre-K programs, especially among low-income children and children of color. However, program quality varies across states. One key question policymakers and practitioners have posed is how to create high-quality early childhood educational environments that promote successful outcomes for all preschool-aged children. This study considers the role of professional development supports in helping teachers create high-quality learning experiences for children. It examines three professional development supports that early childhood programs often provide (teacher training, coaching, and common planning time), whether these supports predict various aspects of observed teacher practice, and whether the associations between professional development supports and teacher practice vary based on teachers’ experience. Findings suggest that… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Fostering Teacher Learning of Conjecturing, Generalising and Justifying through Mathematics Studio

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Calls to advance students’ ability to engage in mathematical reasoning practices including conjecturing, generalising and justifying (CGJ) place significant new demands on teachers. This case study examines how Mathematics Studio provided opportunities for a team of U.S. middle school teachers to learn about these practices and ways to promote them in the classroom. Findings demonstrate how CGJ readings and focused discussions, coupled with repeated cycles of collaborative lesson planning, observation and debrief, supported the development of teacher knowledge, professional community, and teaching resources. In addition, this paper explores the role school leadership played in facilitating Math Studio to ensure these learning opportunities were realised. Documenting how Math Studio features and participants contributed to teachers’ ability to implement CGJ focused lessons not only provides insights into the difficulties… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Focusing on Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Professional Development. Study Snapshot. NCEE 2016-4011

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Recent results from national and international assessments continue to show a need for improvement in math achievement among U.S. students. For example, 60 per-cent of grade 4 students scored below the proficient level on the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress. In an era of increasingly rigorous state standards, teachers at all grade levels face heightened expectations to deepen their students’ understanding of math concepts. Teachers may benefit from professional development (PD) that strengthens their own conceptual understanding of math, particularly elementary school teachers who are less likely to formally study math in college than secondary teachers are. To date, there is limited convincing evidence on the effectiveness of intensive, content-focused PD, a gap this study intended to address. This study examined the implementation and impact of… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – Effective Coaching: Improving Teacher Practice and Outcomes for All Learners

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The purpose of this brief is to synthesize research on coaching and to offer a framework of effective coaching practices. Part 1 provides general information on coaching, including the need for coaching and the goals of coaching. Part 2 describes critical coaching practices that are linked to improvements in teacher practice and learner outcomes. As these practices are most associated with such improvements, they are the recommended practices that should be central to the every-day routine of coaches working in general education or special education settings, as well in environments (e.g., homes, schools, childcare centers) with learners of all ages. Appendix A contains information about various coaching models commonly cited in research and applied in the field (e.g., literacy coaching, behavior coaching, math coaching). This brief is… Continue Reading

0

Eric.ed.gov – An Entrepreneurship Venture for Training K-12 Teachers to Use Engineering as a Context for Learning

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In this paper, the authors present their experiences from participating in a National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps L training program established for business startups, using Blank’s Lean LaunchPad, Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas, and associated tools. They used the entrepreneurial skills acquired through this training to scale-up their emerging innovation, the Cincinnati Engineering Enhanced Math and Science Program (CEEMS), which had been developed, implemented, and evaluated with successful results over a period of seven years in a targeted 14 school-district partnership in Greater Cincinnati. The overriding goal was to improve student learning and success rates in K-12 math and science courses by helping to accelerate the process of bringing effective educational innovation, CEEMS, to scale. In CEEMS, teachers were trained in using challenge-based learning (CBL) and the engineering… Continue Reading